Bundle up or risk hypothermia or frostbite with wind chills below zero again

Temperatures are dropping throughout the region today, with a low expected in the single-digits overnight. The wind chill could make it feel like it's 10 degrees below zero, leading the National Weather Service to warn of the risk of hypothermia and frostbite.

The wind chill advisory is in effect from 1 a.m. through 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, with temperatures expected to bottom out around daybreak.

The cold-weather alert is in effect for Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex counties in New Jersey; Berks, Lehigh, Northampton and parts of Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania; as well as Cecil and Kent counties in Maryland.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the body "begins to lose heat faster than it can be produced" in cold temperatures. Prolonged exposure eventually uses up stored energy and "the result is hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature."

Once that happens, the CDC warns, the brain is affected, making it difficult to "think clearly or move well," particularly dangerous because "a person may not know it is happening and won’t be able to do anything about it."

Frostbite is another danger that victims may not realize they have suffered. The CDC explains that it causes a "loss of feeling and color," most commonly happening on the nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers or toes.

Areas suffering frostbite may become numb, white or gray, and may have a hardened or waxy feel, and need to be re-warmed carefully.